


When Snow Turns to Spring

by darkemrys



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: A LONG while, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Course of true love does not run smooth for these two kiddos, F/M, Feels, Fluff, It'll just take a while, Miraculous Ladybug Love Square, Slow Burn, Takes place right after the Christmas Special, These two kids will be happy, With some Superhero Action in Between All of That, eventually
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2018-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-18 09:12:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13096959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkemrys/pseuds/darkemrys
Summary: After the Christmas dinner at the Agreste household, Adrien offers to walk Marinette home. Marinette takes this opportunity to try to tell Adrien how she feels.However, the confession never happens.Instead, the two of them get into a small accident that causes a chain of events that make Adrien question his feelings for Ladybug and Marinette to decide to give up on Adrien.





	1. The Accident

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone! Happy Holidays! I hope you are having a wonderful holiday season so far. 
> 
> For those who celebrate Christmas, MERRY CHRISTMAS! 
> 
> In honor of the best holiday ever, I have created this fanfic after a plot bunny got stuck in my head after watching Christmas Special. 
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug belongs to its creators.
> 
> Please enjoy!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the help of Alya, Marinette managed to get some alone time with her crush. She planned on confessing her feelings for him. Yet, as everyone knows, things never go according to plan.

To say that Adrien’s Christmas started off rocky would be a bit of an understatement. In order to try to find the perfect term to describe how Adrian’s holiday stated, one must need to review the facts. Well, in the span of a single night, Adrien did many things that would cause one to be concerned if everything was okay with the young blonde boy. 

First, he ran away from home because of his father. Next, he tried to destroy the town’s Christmas tree in a fit of anger. Then, he was stranded in the middle of town with no way to get home in freezing, cold weather. Fortunately, he was rescued by Santa Claus, but had to help save him after he had been turned into an akuma. When all of that was taken into account, rocky was definitely not the right would to describe the beginning of Adrien’s Christmas. 

Crazy? Sure. Insane? Even better. Rocky? Doesn’t even begin to cover it. 

Despite all of that, Adrien still managed to have a great Christmas. All of his friends came over to have share the holiday feast with him. Even his father, who would normally be cooped up in the world of business, emerged from solitude to join in the celebration. Adrien was surrounded in the warmth and love of his friends and family. It was the first Christmas since his mother’s disappearance and Adrien felt truly happy. However, not even his happiness could stop Christmas from ending.

If Adrien had his way, he would stop time so he could enjoy this moment a little while longer. He didn’t want to go back to a life where his father made him a second priority. The blonde could only hope that his father would pay attention to him now after tonight’s events. 

Once everyone’s stomachs were full from the delicious potluck that graced the Agreste’s dining room table half an hour ago, it was time for everyone to go home. Sabrina left first with her father. Chloe departed afterwards with her father as well, but not before wrapping her arms around Adrian’s neck and planting a long kiss on his cheek. When her lips made contact with his face, Adrien’s whole body flinched with discomfort. 

After what seemed like an eternity, Chloe finally separated from Adrien. She sauntered out of the Agreste household only to stop, turn around, and blow the uncomfortable teenage boy a kiss. 

“Bye, Adrikins!”, the heiress said in a flirtatious tone before finally leaving. 

Once Chloe was nowhere in sight, Adrien took the opportunity to furiously wipe his cheek. Sure, he knew it was a childish gesture but the idea of somehow getting Chloe’s kiss off of his face provided the teen with a little bit of comfort. 

\----------------------

Seeing Chloe kiss Adrien like that made Marinette’s blood boil. In fact, she was tempted to transform into Ladybug just to scream to Chloe that she had no chance of getting with Adrien at all. Yet, she kept her temper in check. It was Christmas and considering how Adrien’s holiday started out, she didn’t want to cause a scene. Also, Chloe already turned into an akuma because of Marinette and she really didn’t want a repeat of that. 

“That girl has no shame.”, commented Alya as she took her place by Marinette’s side.

“Tell me about it. It’s obvious that Adrian doesn’t like her. Why doesn’t she stop?”, complained Marinette. 

That earned a giggle from Alya, which prompted her to wrap her arm around Marinette’s shoulders and declare with barely conceived amusement,

“You should tell him how you feel tonight.”

“WHAT?!”, an extremely red Marinette blurted out, causing everyone’s eyes to become fixated on her. Embarrassed beyond belief, Marinette dragged Alya, who was on the verge of exploding in laughter, out of the dining room into the hallway. Once they were away from everyone, Marinette whispered,

“Me confess to Adrien?! No! No! No! Nope! No way! Not! Going! To! Happen!”

“Come on, girl. You can do it. You already sent a valentine to him already, didn’t you?”

“I forgot to sign it, remember?!”

“Yeah, but the most important thing is the fact that you sent it.”

Marinette protested with her hands going up and down, gesturing to herself, “I can’t do it, Alya. Look at me. I’m a nervous wreck around Adrian.”

Alya sighed and stated, “Look, I have seen you hopelessly pine for this boy all year long. Do you plan on pining for the rest of your life or do you want to date him at some point?”

Alya’s response was a mumble from her best friend.

“I want to date him.”

“Okay then, tell him tonight.”

“How am I going to get him alone? There’s no way I’m telling him how I feel in front of a whole bunch of people.”

With a wink, she stated, “Let me worry about that.”

Alya started to walk away from Marinette, who grabbed her best friend’s arm, and asked in a voice filled with fear, “What if he doesn’t like me back?”

Alya patted Marinette on the head and said soothingly, “If he doesn’t, I’ll be there to help you through it, but there’s also a chance that he might like you back. Focus on that, ok?”

The infatuated teen let her friend go, repeating only one word, “Okay.”

Marinette peeked her head around the corner and watched nervously as she watched Alya talk to Adrien and Nino. She was dying to know what they were talking about. Whatever they were talking about ended with Nino and Alya walking out of Adrien’s home, hand in hand. 

Adrian walked towards Marinette which made her heart skyrocket to a thousand miles a minute. Her mine was racing with questions,

“Why is he coming to me?! What did Alya say to him?! What should I say to him?! What should I do?!”

Her train of thought came to a sudden stop when she heard her crush greet her.

“Hey, Marienette.”

She stammered, “H-Hey, A-Adrien.”

“Alya told me that you came with her and Nino, but they had to go because her parents wanted to pick up a few cakes from the cake shop. She asked me if I could walk you home.”

“Oh my god! Adrien is going to walk me home! THIS IS GREAT!”, Marinette happily thought to herself. She was so wrapped up in her own happy, lovesick, thoughts that she didn’t even realize that Adrien had asked her a question. She only returned to Earth when Adrian called her name.

“Marinette?”

“Y-Yeah?”

“I asked if you were okay with walking you home.”

I’d love that!”, Marinette joyfully blurted out.

The surprised look on Adrien’s face made Marinette attempt to rephrase her statement. “I-I mean, um…I’m okay w-with you walking me home…but only if you want to!”

Adrien gave Marinatte a smile that could light up the world and said, “Marinette, I’d be happy to go with you. Just wait here. I need to grab something from upstairs. Be back in a sec.”

Marinette watched the boy of her dreams sprint up the stairs with a huge grin on her face. It was a good thing he wasn’t with her because moments later, the girl stated leaping up and down with joy, squealing, “YAY!”

\-----------------------------

Adrien quickly glanced around his room, repeating impatiently, “Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?”

He started rummaging through his belongings, throwing any item behind him it wasn’t the one has looking for. 

“What are you looking for?”, Plagg asked as he flew out of hiding.

“I’m looking for the gift I got for Marinette.”, Adrien answered while throwing a pair of socks behind him. 

Plagg flew out of the way of the flying clothing and questioned with a mocking tone, “Marianette? Is that your new girlfriend?”

A scoff escaped from Adrian’s mouth before he stated, “Marinette is just a friend.”

“Adrian and Marinette sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G…..”, Plagg started to sing, much to Adrian’s chagrin.

“Plagg!”, a mortified Adrien screamed before hearing someone knock on the door. The kwami quickly concealed himself in Adrian’s shirt before the blonde responded, “Come in!”

Gabriel Agreste entered the room and surveyed the mess that Adrian had recently created with stern eyes. Disgusted by what he saw, the fashion designer issued a command. 

“Adrien, I demand that you clean your room when all your friends leave.”

“Yes, Father.”, a distracted Adrien responded, not even allowing his father to interrupt his search. However, Gabriel Agreste was not amused by his sidetracked son’s behavior while he was trying to talk to him. 

“Adrien!”, exclaimed Gabriel, making his son stop what he was doing and stare at him with wide eyes. “What are you looking for?”

Adrien hesitated before answering his father’s inquiry,

“I-I was looking for the gift I got for Marianette.”

“Marinette? Who is this Marinette?”

“She’s one of my friends. She won one of your fashion contests…the one where everyone had to make a hat. Remember?”

Gabriel’s eyes traveled upward as he took a moment to try and recall who his son was talking about. Finally, the image of a light-skinned, blue-eyed girl came to his mind.

“Ah, the hat maker, yes, I do remember her.”

Then, the next thing that Gabriel did stunned Adrien completely. His father knelt down beside the blonde and started to look through his things too. 

Completely dumbfounded, Adrien asked, 

“Father, what are you doing?”

“If you intend on giving your friend her gift tonight, you might need two pairs of eyes to locate it.”

A small smile formed on Adrien’s face as he said, “Thank you, Father.”

Gabriel returned the sentiment by responding fondly, “You’re welcome, Adrien.”

\---------------------------

After constantly jumping up and down for a grand total of five minutes, an exhausted Marinette seated herself on the couch. However, when she heard the footsteps of someone descending down the stairwell, she was filled with an energy born form excitement and nervousness. 

She stood up instantly when Adrien came downstairs with his father. Adrian looked very apologetic as he said, 

“Sorry for the wait.”

Marinette chirped, “It’s no problem at all.”

Then, Adrien’s father started to say something. On the other hand, his words went through one ear and out the other. Why wasn’t Marianette paying attention to Gabriel Agreste? She was far too bust staring at the object in Adrian’s hands. It was a small aqua blue bad that was possessed two pictures of snowmen on its sides. 

Marinette began to ask herself, “Who’s the gift for?”

The sound of her name being called brought Marinette right out of her curious trance. Her cheeks colored with embarrassment and she apologized for her inattentiveness. “I’m sorry. What were you saying?”

Adrien put a hand on Marinette’s shoulder and questioned, “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine…”, Marianette managed to say while simultaneously fighting the urge to squal from physical contact with her crush. “What were you saying?”

“I was trying to tell you that Father assigned a bodyguard to help me walk you home….” Adrien childishly pouted before finishing his statement, “even though I don’t really need it.”

Gabriel commented with barely concealed amusement, “If you think I’m going to allow the both of you to walk across town unsupervised, you two are sorely mistaken.”

The eldest Agreste snapped his fingers, which resulted in a large, tan-skinned man with curly, ebony locks appear at his side seconds later. He was impeccably dressed in a black tuxedo, complete with shiny back loafers and black sunglasses that kept his eyes hidden. Gabriel gestured to the man and introduced him to the two teenagers. 

“This is Clyde. He’ll be going with you two.”

Marinette reached her hand out for a handshake and introduced herself, “Hi, I’m Marianette.”

Clyde only gave her a frosty glare and nodded his head in acknowledgement. The atmosphere in the room transcended into the realm of awkward as Marianette slowly lowered her hand and Adrien suppressed a groan of annoyance. 

Gabriel looked satisfied while he said with a smile, “You should get going. It’s getting late.”

\-------------------------

“This is so weird.”, Marinette thought while she was walking nest to Adrien with Clyde trailing behind. She glanced at Adrien, who currently had a facial expression that was a mixture of a scowl and a pout.

Marinette rubbed her cold hands together and blew on them. The short bursts of hot air bought her hands temporary relief from the cold before the winter air caused them to sting again. 

“Are your hands cold?”, Adrien asked, catching Marianette off-guard. 

She blubbered, “No, I mean, yes! They’re a little cold, but I’ll be f-“

The brunette didn’t get to finish what she was saying. She was distracted by the sight of Adrien taking off one of his red gloves. He held the gloves out to her and instructed,

“Put this on your left hand.”

“I-I can’t! It’s freezing out here! Your hand will go numb!”

Marianette’s protests died in her throat when Adrien gently took her hand in his and put the glove on for her. He assured her with a smile.

“It’s okay, Marianette.”

It took a while for the girl to find her voice after Adrien’s gesture before she commented, 

“Thank you, but what about your other hand? It’ll freeze.”

The next thing he did shocked Marinette entirely. He interlocked his fingers with her and remarked with a wink,

“I think holding your hand will protect it from that.”

It took everything in Marianette’s power to stop herself from swooning.

\----------------------------

“I have to admit..seeing Marinette all flustered like this is kind of adorable…”, Adrien thought to himself. “If she gets this worked up with me holding her hand, I wonder how she’ll react when she’s holding hands with a guy she actually likes.”

Speaking of liking things, he really hoped she would like her present. He really wanted to give it to her, but he couldn’t do it with Clyde watching their every move. That would be extremely weird. He had to find a way for them to ditch him. The only question was how to go about doing it. While he was deep in thought of how they could escape their “babysitter”, Marinette distracted him for a moment by saying,

“We can see the town’s Christmas tree from here!”

Adrien took a moment to admire the tree, but found the sight of the enormous crows of people in front of it far more interesting. Looking at the massive amount of people gave Adrian a spark of inspiration as an idea began to take form inside his mind. He got Marinette’s attention by calling out to her.

“Marinette…”

“Yes?”

“There’s something I want to do with you, but I don’t want to do it…” He pointed to Clyde and finished, “…in front of him. Can you help me get him off our tails?”

A very red Marinette nodded her head furiously, which made Adrian grin. 

“W-What do you need me to do?”, Marianette managed to ask, despite stuttering in the beginning.

Adrien tightened his grip on her hand. “Three things. One, run as fast as you can. Two, keep your head down when we go through that crowd. Three, don’t let go of my hand.”

“Okay.”

“When I say go, we’re going to make a break for the three and run around it. Ready?”

“Ready!”

“Go!”

\-----------------------

If there was one word that could be used to describe Clyde’s mood, it would have to be dejected. A normal person would be spending the holiday with their family. What was he doing? He was working, much to his dismay.

On any other day, he would definitely be a little more cheerful about his job. While he found Gabriel’s parenting methods questionable, he had a deep respect for Gabriel Agreste. He was a single father, who was not only raising his teenage son, but also running a fashion empire. In addition to that, he was rather fond of Adrien. He thought the younger Agreste was a sweet kid that didn’t deserve the hand he was dealt.  
It’s just well…it was Christmas and he really wanted to be with his husband and daughter. Unfortunately, his employer wasn’t a huge believer of the concept of vacation days. 

“Well…guess it could be worse.”, Clyde thought while keeping a close eye on the two teens in front of him. At least, they weren’t trying to run away. 

All of a sudden, Adrien and Marinette took off and ran away as fast as they possibly could. 

“YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!”, Clyde yelled in aggravation. 

Forcing his legs to move at a pace that his body wasn’t familiar with, he sprinted after the two teens for as long as he could. Perspiration stung his eyes when rivers of sweat dripped down his face. His heart pounded against his chest so hard that it felt like his organ was going to explode because of the strain. Regardless of all his pain, he kept going after Adrien and Marinette. He saw them disappear into the depths of the endless sea of people in front of the town’s Christmas tree. 

He pushed his way through the crowd without a single care of whom he bumped or crashed into. He kept his eyes peeled on the sight of Adrian and Marianette, who seemed to be getting further and further out of sight. Finally, the two of them disappeared completely and Clyde twisted his neck in all directions trying to search for any sign of them. 

Much to his ever-growing dismay, he couldn’t find them. It was if the crowd swallowed them up and swept them away to places unknown. Only two thoughts filled Clyde’s mind at that very moment. The first thought was a list off possible Adrien and Marinette could have possibly run off too. The second thought was the high probability of him being out of a job by the end of the night. 

\--------------------

On the opposite side of the Christmas tree, an exhausted Marinette leaned against the side of a convenience store to catch her breath. Adrien was lying on the only patch of earth that was completely snowless. His chest rose and fell as he breathed deeply and heavily. Marianette saw that their hands were still conjoined and hoped Adrian would think the cold was to blame for her reddened cheeks. 

Adrien asked, “Are you okay?!”

Marianette silently nodded, still fixated on the fact that they were still holding hands. However, that fixation came to a screeching halt when Adrian pointed across the street and declared,

“Looks like we’re pretty close to your house.”  


“Yeah…looks like it.”

Disappointment hung in her words. She knew that her time with Adrien would come to an end, but right now, all she wanted was for time to stop. Her dwindling moments with her crush meant that she would have to confess soon. She wasn’t quite ready for that.

When they were inches away from her house, Adrien suddenly stopped moving. Marinette looked at him with stunned eyes. Was it her imagination or did Adrien seem…nervous? His eyes met hers before he let go of her hand. Adrien held the bag with both hands in front of him and said,

“I love the hat you gave me. Seriously, it was the best present ever. So….I got you this.”

He pushed the bag towards Marinette, who quite honestly, had no idea what to say or do. The emotions that she was feeling caused her mind to go into a full mental meltdown. After a moment that felt like an eternity, she grabbed the bag with shaky hands. She stammered,

“D-Do I open it now?”

“Now. Definitely now.”

She reached into the bag and felt the softest fabric she had ever touched in her life. Her fingers gripped the fabric and pulled out a scarf. The garment was made out of silk as blue as the sky. On both of its sides, there were six, white, sparkly snowflakes that shimmered in the light. Marinette had seen many pretty scarves, but none of them could compare to the one she was holding. It was beautiful…simply beautiful. 

Receiving a gift from Adrien made Marinette so happy that she threw her arms around the boy and ecstatically exclaimed, 

“Thank you, Adrien!”

Suddenly, her bubble of ecstasy was popped when she realized that she was hugging her Adrien. All at once, she was hit with a flash of nervousness and panic. She pried herself away from Adrien so quickly that it was like contact with the blonde burned her skin. The only thing she did next was say rushed apologies. 

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to do that! I’m sorry! I’m really sorry!”

The musical sound of Adrien’s laughter made her stop rambling. Then, his fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her close to him. His arms wrapped around her in a tight embrace, which made Marinette’s body temperature skyrocket from warm to hot as a firecracker.  


“I think I should be the one thanking you, Marianette. Thank you for helping me have the best Christmas ever.”

Marinette opened her mouth, but no words left her lips. The poor girl was suffering from a mental meltdown from being so close to the boy of her dreams. Adrien released her from the hug and said with another dazzling smile,

“Merry Christmas, Marinette.”

It took a while for the smitten, overwhelmed brunette to find her voice again, but when she did, it came out as a stutter.

“M-Merry, C-Christmas, A-Adrien!”

With another infectious laugh filling up the silence, he bid her goodbye.

“See you later.”

“B-Bye!”

He started to walk away, which left Marinette staring at his retreating form. With each step her took, Alya’s words began to haunt her like a plague.

“You should tell him how you feel tonight.”

After taking a deep breath, she decided to take her best friend’s advice. She sprinted out into the snow-covered ground, calling out,

“Adrian!”

He turned around quickly with alarmed eyes. She started to decrease in speed when she started to confess,

“I-AAAAAHHHHHH!”

The slushy mixture of ice and water beneath her made her feet slide forward uncontrollably. She wailed as her body skidded uncontrollably without any signs of stopping. Her worried eyes saw Adrian coming closer and closer to her. Mentally, she pleaded for the boy to move…to get out of the way and avoid colliding into her. Instead, he did something that astonished her entirely. 

He widened his stance and spread his arms out to his sides. Was he….going to try and catch her? Marianette’s hypothesis was proven to be accurate as she collided into him. His arms wrapped around her figure, but the momentum of Marianette’s sliding wasn’t completely stopped by Adrian’s interference. Suddenly, the two teens tumbled to the ground. Adrian’s back slammed into the frozen earth underneath him while Marianette’s head was thrown backwards and then crashed against Adrian’s head when they both hit the ground. In any other situation, both Marianette and Adrian would’ve separated from each other and given out voiced concerns along with a few apologies sprinkled into the mix.

Yet, none of that happened.

The two just laid there for a moment with widened eyes that didn’t hide how stupefied they both felt, but it wasn’t the fall that caused such emotion to stir within them. 

It was the fact that their lips were touching that did.


	2. Talking With A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianette and Adrien talk to their best friends about what happened, which inspires Marianette to try confessing again and Adrian to start doubting the identity of the person who gave him a precious gift in the past.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been forever since I've posted, but I have to be honest, this chapter was EXTREMELY DIFFICULT to write. 
> 
> Gabriel Agreste was really hard for me to write for some reason, but I powered through my struggle and produced a brand new chapter!
> 
> Enjoy!

After a few minutes of lying on the frozen ground, Marianette was the one that moved first. 

Marianette scrambled off of Adrien as fast as she possibly could and shot up to her feet. Her hands covered her cherry-red face as she backed away from her crush. Adrien sat up and just looked at Marianette with an equally red face. The two teens just stared at each other in a state of silent shock. Finally, Marianette stuttered in a high-pitched voice,

“G-Good n-night, A-Adrien!”

Without giving Adrien a chance to say anything, Marianette pivoted on her feet and ran into the house, slipping on ice on the way. When the door closed behind her, she ran right past her parents and enclosed herself in the sanctity of her room. She threw herself onto her bed, grabbed the nearest pillow, buried her face in its pink, soft texture, and screamed.

After her muffled scream took the air out of her lungs, she fished out her phone from her purse. It only took her a minute to locate her best friend’s contact information and pressed the green button on her phone screen. The ringing tone repeated in her ear twice before the sound of Alya’s voice filled the room.

“Hey, girl. How’d it go?”

“I-I-I-I-I-I-“

“Mari, are you okay?! What happened?!”

Remembering what transpired between her and Adrian caused her face to heat up and her face to go from cherry red to tomato red. She squealed her confession in one breath to her best friend,

“I kissed Adrien!” 

“YOU DID WHAT?!”

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After Marianette left Adrian sitting in the snow, Adrien felt….lost. 

When he got to his feet, he turned around and just started to wander aimlessly around town. He wasn’t thinking about going home or how furious his father would be after he found out about how Adrien ditched Clyde. The only thing on his mind was the kiss he just had with Marianette. 

The kiss made the young model feel a sense of guilt. He wasn’t upset with Marianette. In his mind, he knew that the kiss was unplanned and unintentional on both of their parts. Yet, it didn’t stop him from feeling that…in some way…he betrayed Ladybug. The two of them weren’t together, but he always thought that they had feelings for each other. As Chat, he flirted with her on a daily basis, so he didn’t exactly make his feelings for her very subtle. While she didn’t exactly respond to his verbal advances, Ladybug did send him a valentine for Valentine’s Day. 

Yet, every time the kiss replayed itself in his mind, Adrien felt like an imaginary hand wrapped its fingers around his heart and squeezed the organ until it felt like the sheer force of the hand’s grip would crush it. Adrien placed a hand over his aching chest, but even that did little to stop the agony he was experiencing. 

He made it back to the town’s Christmas tree when a strong hand clamped down on his shoulder. The unexpected physical contact snapped Adrian out of his emotional trance and he spun around on his heels, fully prepared to escape his captor and turn into his superhero persona if needed. 

His alert mindset turned into guilt once again when he took in the sight of an exhausted Clyde. He was hunched over with one hand on his knees while the other remained on his shoulder. His shoulders rose and fell with fatigue as he took deep breaths. After taking five or ten breaths, he lifted his head and said with relief,

“I finally found you.”

Without any warning, Clyde grabbed Adrien by his shoulders and hauled him up into the air. A frightened Adrien frantically yelled as the man threw him over his shoulder with his arm wrapped around his body as tightly as snake squeezing its prey into submission. 

Adrien twisted and squirmed in an attempt to break free from Clyde’s grip, angrily exclaiming,

“Put me down!”

“I’m sorry, but you can’t run away again. I need my job, Master Adrien.”

Adrien’s face turned even redder as he saw people looking at him being carried around like a child with laughing eyes and endless snickering leaving their lips. The blonde dragged his hands against his rapidly heating face and whined to himself,

“This is so embarrassing…”

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marianette puffed up her cheeks and mumbled after she divulged the entire story to Alya, “You don’t have to laugh so hard about it…”

Alya said, “Sorry, Mari, but that was just too hilarious. Only you would try to confess to a boy and end up accidentally kissing him instead.”

Marianette uttered a glum groan, which made Alya reassure the distressed teen,

“Calm down. Look, just call him and talk.”

“W-W-What?! I can’t do that! I already messed up with him as it is! Talking to him now would only make it worse! It would also be super awkward!”

“Well…you already kissed the boy, so you can’t get more awkward than that.”

“Alya!”

“Mari, listen, it won’t be as bad as you think. Who knows? Maybe, Adrian is freaking out just as badly as you are about this.”

“You think so?”

“I do, but you’ll never know until you try. So, I’m going to get off the phone and you are going to call Adrien. Got it?”

“G-Got it.”

Alya ended their conversation with a click of a button, leaving Marianette to stare at a black phone screen. Unlocking her phone, she found Adrian’s contact information and clicked on it. When Adrian’s smiling picture popped up on the screen, Marianette’s finger shakily hovered over the green “Call” button. Her heart started to hammer into her chest so strongly that it felt like her chest would break at any moment. Her breathing started to become shallow and rapid with anxiety. The shaking that overwhelmed only one finger started to travel to her entire hand. 

After phone began to tremble in her grip, she dropped it on the bed and once again, buried her face in a pillow, complaining into its soft surface,

“I can’t do it. I can’t do it. I just can’t.”

This time, a concerned Tikki who flew out of her purse with a cookie in her tiny hands answered her complaints. 

“Marianette, Alya may be right. It might not be as bad as you think it is.”

“Tikki…..we kissed! What if he never speaks to me again?! 

“It was just an accident and I bet he thinks it was just an accident too. Besides, the least you could do is call him to see if he made it home safely. You did leave him sitting out in the snow without offering to help him up.”

After hearing those words from Tikki, Marianette’s nervousness changed into guilt. Her hands stopped quivering as her fingers grabbed the phone with a steady grip.   
She tapped the phone and Adrian’s picture illuminated the screen. Her eyes lingered on Adrian’s smiling face for a moment before she muttered,

“Well, it’s now or never.”

As quick as a flash, she pushed the “Call” button and started to hear the dial tone.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Unfortunately for Marianette, Adrien couldn’t answer his phone because as soon as he got home, he had to face his father.

The fashion designer cast his stormy grey eyes at Clyde and even Adrien could tell that his father made Clyde incredibly nervous. Well, he wasn’t the only one who was quaking in his boots.

“Clyde…”, Gabriel called out and Adrien could have sworn that he saw the man’s back straighten a bit.

Adrien looked back and forth between the two men, fearing the absolute worst. He opened his mouth, ready to defend Clyde to his father. He didn’t mind getting punished by his father, but it would be devastating if Clyde lost his job because of Adrien. 

Before any words could come out of Adrien’s mouth, Gabriel declared,

“You’re free to go. Thank you for all of your service tonight. Take the rest of the week off. You deserve it after having to spend such a long time finding my son, who decided to run away twice in one night.”

Clyde breathed a sigh of relief and said gratefully while shaking his employer’s hand, “Thank you so much, sir.”

With a spring in his step, Clyde left the Ageste manor, leaving Adrian alone at the mercy of his father. Whatever good graces that Gabriel had recently had with Clyde completely vanished when Clyde was no longer in the vicinity. Now, the only thing that was radiating from Gabriel was anger. 

Finally, his father spoke to him.

“I know that I have not been present to participate in many celebrations with you, Adrien, but tonight, I decided to try.”

Adrian tried to interject, “Father, I-“

The elder Agreste roared, “SILENCE!”

Adrien’s mouth snapped shut while Gabriel continued to vent, 

“For once, I decided to put my work on hold to spend Christmas with you and what do you decide to do?! You run away in the middle of the night and scare me half to death!”

Adrien thought about saying something, but threw that thought aside because Gabriel was not finished quite yet. He continued,

“I had people searching for you for hours! When you finally come home, I could have punished you. I could have sent you to your room and gone right back to working, but did I? No. I let you get away with your little stunt. I allow rank strangers to enter my home because you wanted to have dinner with those so-called friends of yours. I even help you find a gift that you picked out for one of those friends of yours in that mess you call a room! After I did all of that for you….so you could still manage to have a happy holiday….how do you decide to repay me?! You almost cost a good man his job by pulling the same stunt again. The only difference is that your little friend”, he spat out the word like it was poison to his lips, “..was with you.” 

Adrien grimaced by his father’s accusatory tone of voice, but he couldn’t say anything. Every single thing that his father said that Adrien did was true. How could he defend himself when he was in the wrong? 

“Well, do you have anything to say for yourself?”, Gabriel demanded with a raise of his eyebrow.

Adrien’s eyes met the floor as he mumbled an apology, “I’m sorry, Father. It won’t happen again.”

“I will only accept your apology under one condition. I’m going to ask you a question, Adrian, and I need you to be completely honest with me.”

“Yes, Father?”

“Do you have a crush on that girl?”

Adrien’s heart nearly burst out of his chest as his brain absorbed his father’s inquiry.   
He stammered out only one word,

“N-N-No!”

“The color of your cheeks suggests otherwise.”

“Marianette is just a friend! Why in the world would you think that I have a crush on her?!”

“You did run away from adult supervision with her just so you could be alone with her unsupervised on a day that could also be considered a romantic holiday.”

“I just did that because it would’ve been embarrassing to give her a gift with Clyde watching our every move!”

“You would feel embarrassed if you gave your friend a gift if someone was with you? You told me she was a friend, Adrian. Are you lying to me or yourself?”

“I’m not lying to you, Father! I don’t like Marianette! I l-“

Adrien smashed his teeth on his tongue to keep himself quiet. He could detect the faint metallic taste of blood in his mouth. Gabriel narrowed his eyes at Adrian, which made the blonde become riddled with anxiety. 

“Don’t stop now, Adrian. Who do you like?”, Gabriel pried.

Adrian became speechless for a second. He couldn’t tell his dad that he had a crush on Ladybug? If he did, who knows what his father would do? He had to lie. He had no choice. 

“No one. That’s what I was going to say. I like no one.”

“Fine, Adrien, don’t tell me. You’ll have plenty of time to change your mind during work.”

“Work? What are you talking about? It’s the holiday season. I never work during the holidays.”

“As of right now, you do. You have shown me that the only way I can trust you is if I know where you are and what you are doing at every moment of the day. So, starting tomorrow, you will be modeling every single day until school starts. When you are finished, you will be taken home where you will be studying under Natalie’s supervision until dinner.”

“Father, you can’t be serious!”

“I am quite serious. Adrien, you have no right to be upset with me. The only reason I am doing this is because you have pushed me to this point. None of this would have happened if wasn’t for you.”

A mixture of emotions swirled within Adrian. Anger…sadness…disappointment…he wasn’t quite sure how to feel or what he was supposed to be feeling. 

Gabriel’s arms crossed themselves over his chest. His mouth that was once in a straight line, turned upward in a smug smirk. In a voice that was literally with arrogance and superiority, Gabriel stated,

“If I were you, I’d get some rest. You have an early photo shoot to get to tomorrow.”

Adrien just clenched his fists and ran up to his room, slamming the door behind him.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gabriel pressed a button on his phone and waited for a response. After a few seconds, he heard his assistant say, 

“Yes, Mr. Agreste. How can I help you?”

He barked out an order. “I need you to find out everything you possibly can about this “Marianette” that Adrian is so fond of.”

Natalie said, “Right away, Mr. Agreste.”

Feelings or not, it was frankly obvious that Adrien liked Marianette to an extent. The same could not be said for Gabriel. Gabriel only loved three things in the world: Adrian, his wife, and his work. However, Gabriel had a countless of things that he didn’t like. After tonight, Marianette had jumped to the top of the list.

It had been quite a long time since Adrien had run away from his bodyguards. In fact, the only time he actually did it was when he wanted to go to public school. He had never done it after that, and quite frankly, Gabriel was quite pleased with that. 

In the span of a few minutes, this Marianette somehow made Adrian revert back to his days of running away and rebelling against authority. That made Gabriel’s blood boil. 

The only thing he needed from his son was complete and total obedience. If Marianette was the cause of Adrien’s newfound rebellious nature, then she was a problem, and Gabriel Agreste always took care of his problems. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Adrien plopped on his bed and groaned in complete and utter misery. Plagg flew from out of his shirt and went straight into his beloved stash of Camembert cheese. After he stuffed some of the scented food into his mouth, he said,

“Don’t feel too bad, kiddo. It could’ve been worse.”

“How can it be worse, Plagg? You heard my father. I’m literally grounded until school starts.”

“At least, he doesn’t know about your crush for a certain red and black superhero.”

That made Adrian perk up a little. Then, he said with a smile, “I don’t have a crush on Ladybug, Plagg. I’m in love with her.” 

“Ugh. Quit being mushy when I’m eating.”

Adrien chuckled at his kwami’s distaste of him verbally expressing how he felt for Ladybug as another block of Camembert cheese disappeared into the depths of Plagg’s mouth. Suddenly, he felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. 

He retrieved the black cellular device and his jaw dropped in shock when he saw Nino’s text message spread across the screen. 

So, how it’s feel being Marianette’s boyfriend? ☺

Adrian almost broke his finger from smashing the Call button on his phone so hard. After the phone rang once, he heard the sound of his best friend’s voice.

“What’s up?”

“I AM NOT MARIANETTE’S BOYFRIEND!”

“Whoa. Chill out, bro. Why are you so mad?”

Adrian took a second to breathe in and out slowly to try and regain his composure. When he felt his anger slowly starting to fade away, he apologized,

“Sorry, Nino. My father just grounded me.”

“Are you serious?!”

“Afraid so.”

“It’s the holidays!”

“That makes it suck more.”

“So, you’ll be trapped at home?”

“Worse. I have to go to work.”

“That sucks.”

“I know.”

“What’d you do?”

Adrien told Nino everything that happened from start to finish and the only thing that that Nino could do in response was ask a question,

“Wait, Marianette didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“That she likes you.” 

Now, it was Adrien’s turn to laugh. After he finished chuckling into the phone, he scoffed,

“Marianette likes me? No way, man. That’s impossible.”

“Wow, Alya was right. You are dense.”

“I am not!”

“Yes, you are. Marianette has a crush on you and it looks like you have a crush on her.”

“Wha?! No, I don’t!”

“Dude, you took Marianette away from your bodyguard, just so you could give her a Christmas gift and you kissed her before she went home.”

“The kiss was accidental!” 

“Maybe, but you trying to get some alone time with her wasn’t. Only a guy with a crush on someone would do all that.” 

Hearing that made Adrien’s eyes roll. The model retorted, “I do not have a crush on Marianette! I like someone else!”

“Really?! Who?!”

Regret began to seep into Adrien’s mind moments after he made that confession to Nino. Even though Nino was his best friend, he was sure that Nino would laugh for days if he found out that Adrien was head over heels for Ladybug. He stammered as he looked around the room to find something that might save him from the hole he was verbally digging for himself,

“I….uh…..I….”

His eyes glanced on the heart-shaped Valentine that Adrien kept on his nightstand, which gave him an idea. He calmly answered,

“I like the girl that gave me one of my Valentines.”

“Dude, you got a thousand Valentines this year. You have to be a little more specific.”

“It’s shaped in a heart.”

Nino made no attempt to hide the exasperation in his voice when he declared, 

“Adrian….Marianette gave that to you.”

“ No, she didn’t! Someone else did!”

“Oh my god. Look, if you don’t believe me, ask her yourself.”

The faint sound of screaming echoed in the background, which made Nino groan. He said,

“I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

With the sound of a click, the call came to a close. Adrian put his phone on his nightstand, saying out loud to himself,

“Ladybug gave me that Valentine, not Marianette.”

A very full and satisfied Plagg decided to fly to Adrian and share his thoughts on the matter, even though Adrian really didn’t need to hear them.

“You really don’t know that for sure.”

“Yes, I do!”

“Adrien, the only reason you think Ladybug gave it to you is because a ladybug landed on the Valentine right after you read it. For all you know, your friend could be right.”

“No way! Nino’s wrong this time!”

“There’s only way to find out. Ask her.”

Adrien scoffed at Plagg’s words. He knew in his heart that Ladybug gave him that card where she responded to his own feelings with poetic words that matched the ones he wrote down. There was no need to ask Marianette if she gave him that Valentine or not. However, he did need to talk to her though. He did miss her call earlier. Calling her back would be the polite thing to do.

Adrien hit the Call button on his phone and waited for Marianette to answer. However, when she answered the phone, the memory of his lips pressing against hers, invaded his thoughts and distracted him. He shook his head furiously to banish the event from his mind for a few moments so he could concentrate. 

Marianette spoke first,

“Hello?

“Hi, Marianette. Can you talk?”

“Not for very long. I’m in the middle of helping my parents clean the bakery.”

“Oh! Sorry for interrupting. I’ll call you later then.” 

His finger was inches away from hitting the End Call button when he heard Marianete shriek,

“Wait!”

Her frantic scream made Adrian quickly remove his finger from the End Call button. She started to talk, but Adrian noticed that the more she spoke, the more nervous she seemed to become.

“Did you get home safe?”

“Yeah, but thanks to our little adventure, I’m officially grounded until school starts.”

“Oh. Well, can we meet up in the library after school then? There’s something I need to tell you.”

Adrian’s eyes traveled to the pink heart-shaped card on his nightstand. The words of his best friend and Kwami started to plague him, much to his annoyance. Ladybug did give him the Valentine….right? There’s no way that Marianette could have given it to him….right? 

He was driven out of his doubting mindset when Marianette said, “Hello?”

“Yeah! Yeah! We can do that….”, he started, trailing off as his attention was once again driven back to the Valentine that he cherished so much, “…I’ve got something I need to ask you anyway.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor...poor...confused....oblivious.....Adrian. 
> 
> Next time, questions will be asked, confessions will be asked....but will hearts be broken? 
> 
> Stick around to find out!


	3. Blush Before The Storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to go back to school and Adrian and Marianette see each other for the first time after the infamous kiss. The thing is...how do two people act after they accidentally go through a possible friendship-changing moment? Simple. Act like complete nervous, blushing wrecks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it has been forever since I updated this fic. Originally, this was supposed to be posted in mid-April but life got in the way. Well, I'm here with a brand new chapter in the beginning of May. I have not abandoned this story! :)
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug doesn't belong to me at all.
> 
> Enjoy the story!

Two weeks later….

“Adrien?”

“Adrien…”

“Adrien!”

The heightened volume of his name being called made Adrien’s head suddenly shoot up. With a crazed look in his emerald eyes, the model frantically looked around the room, worried out of his mind that his inattentiveness may have resulted in his father’s wrath. 

It took a few seconds, but his mind took in his surroundings. He was standing next to an abandoned black chair that he was sitting in moments before someone called him. His plate of maple-syrup covered waffles and scrambled eggs was left untouched. Adrien was alone as usual, but the memory of that fact didn’t stop his alarmed heart from racing. 

Fingers curled around his shoulder from behind made the boy flinch with nervousness. Gulping slowly, he turned his head to see a worried Natalie, who quickly removed her hand from his person after seeing how frazzled Adrien was. 

Adrien placed a hand over his heart and sighed with relief. “Natalie….you startled me…”

“My apologies, Master Adrien…are you feeling alright?”, the secretary questioned.

Adrien plastered a forced smile on his face before answering, “I’m just tired…that’s all. Working all break took a lot out of me.”

“If you don’t feel well enough to go to school, I can always-”

“No!”

“You dozed off while you were trying to eat breakfast.”

“Natalie, I’m fine, really. All I need is a coffee and I’ll be good to go.”

Natalie just stared at Adrien with an expressionless look in her eyes. He wasn’t even sure if Natalie even believed him. Truth be told, a small part of Adrien wanted to crawl into bed and sleep until the moon was high in the sky. On the other hand, a larger part of him wanted to get out of the house. He didn’t care what the reason was. He just needed to go. After two weeks of non-stop work and studying, his house felt less like a residence and more like a prison. 

Despite his exhaustion, he was actually glad to go to school. He would get to see all of his friends, especially Nino, Alya, and Marianette. Thinking about Marianette made his mind recall the events of Christmas night all over again: the warmth of Marianette’s hand as they ran through the busy streets of Paris, the freezing wet, cold ground that Adrian landed on when he caught a falling Marianette, the feeling of her lips pressed against his….

Adrien’s felt his body temperature go from lukewarm to burning hot and his cheeks turned as red as an apple.

Adrien was pulled out of his thoughts when he felt Natalie’s palm against his forehead. 

“You’re burning up. Are you absolutely sure you’re okay?”

“Yes! I’m fine! I’m just hungry! Really hungry!”

Adrien scrambled back to his chair as quick as he possibly could and scarfed his food down as fast as he could. After about five minutes and almost choking about six times, his plate was clean as he exclaimed,

“I’m ready to go!” 

He ran outside and climbed into the backseat of his father’s limo while Natalie and Clyde followed behind him. As the car roared to life with Clyde at the wheel, Natalie started to inform Adrien of his schedule, but Adrien wasn’t focused on what Natalie was saying.

His mind drifted back to Marianette as his hand traveled to his pocket and felt the thin paper of the folded pink, heart-sharped Valentine that was tucked away and out of sight. It served as a gentle reminder of what he had to do today.

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Marianette was…..nervous.

The butterflies in her stomach were flying around so rapidly and erratically that it made the young heroine’s stomach do backflips. Pain born of discomfort flared up within her belly, which made Marianette almost queasy. 

She sat at the breakfast table and pushed her bacon around her plate with a fork before her mother asked her,

“Sweetie? What’s wrong?”

What was wrong? Well, that was an easy question. Today was the day that she planned to tell Adrien, once and for all, that she liked him. In addition to that, Adrien said there was something he needed to ask her. 

While she was mostly focused on saying the three words that she had been struggling to communicate to Adrien for as long as she could remember, a small part of her mind was running wild trying to think of which question that Adrien would want to ask. 

These chaotic feelings in her being almost kept her from getting any sleep and the fact that they were robbing her of an appetite wasn’t helping either. 

Marianette formed a half-truth to appease her mother’s worrying. “I….I guess I’m not very hungry this morning.”

She slid out of her chair, picked up her plate, and placed it in the microwave. Maybe, she could eat it for lunch….if her stomach decided to act right by then. She grabbed her belongings and walked out of her house, bidding her parents goodbye,

“Bye, Mom! Bye, Dad! Love you!”

She met up with Alya, who swung an arm around her shoulder. Her best friend interrogated with a hint of teasing in her voice,

“Ready to tell Adrien you love him?”

“W-Well….”

“Hey, you two!”

Both girls turned behind them to see Nino waving at them a few feet in front of them with an exhausted looking Adrien beside him. When Adrien and Marianette glanced at each other, matching blushes grew on their faces, starting from their cheeks and growing more and more with each passing second. In no time at all, both their faces were as red as the ripest cherry. Then, they turned their faces away from one another as if casting their gaze somewhere else would somehow hide their frazzled states.

Marianette didn’t even have to look at Alya to know that her best friend had the hugest smirk on her face. Her fingers slid in between Nino’s while she said, 

“Let’s go, Nino.”

Nino allowed himself to be pulled away by his girlfriend into the school, but not before he placed a comforting hand on Adrien’s shoulder and stating only three words,

“Good luck, dude.”

Marianette and Adrien stood alone outside the school as the last few kids came straggling by to avoid being late to school. An awkward silence started to form between the two of them. Both teens shyly glanced at each other, only for their eyes to dart away when they found themselves staring into each other’s eyes for too long. Finally, Marianette decided to try to say something, but Adrien had the same idea.

“I-“

“I-“

The two adolescent superheroes started at each other with widened eyes born from shock before breaking out into laughter, which made the awkward atmosphere fade away. After the laughter between the two of them ceased, Marianette asked,

“Are we still on for this afternoon in the library?”

“Yeah.”

“Adrien…about what happened at Christmas….I-I’m sorry I got you grounded.”

“You don’t need to apologize. It was my idea to run off in the first place. I just dragged you along with me.”

“N-No! You didn’t drag me! I wanted to run away with you! I could have said no…if I wanted to….”

Then, what Adrien said next shocked her to the core.

“I’m really glad you didn’t say no. Running away with you was so much fun. You’re the kind of person I’d go anywhere with, Marianette.” 

If Marianette wasn’t blushing before, she sure was now and she wasn’t the only one. A blush quickly colored Adrien’s face as the weight of his words began to dawn on him. The blushing teenagers probably would have stood there, awkwardly staring at each other, for hours, but fate had other plans for them.

BRRRRRIIIIINNNNNGGGGGG!

The loud noise of the school bell echoed throughout the complex and the surrounding areas outside of it, bringing Adrien and Marianette out of their trance. The teens sprinted to their classroom as fast as they could before they could be counted as tardy.

The fact that they came in together made Chloe have something to say, but any words the spoiled heiress was spouting went from one of Marianette’s ears and out the other. In fact, the same thing happened with the teacher’s words during the lesson. Marianette couldn’t pay attention to anything that was going on during class. Adrien’s statement made her feel like she was on cloud nine. 

Any nervous feelings that she felt earlier had decreased significantly, but they didn’t disappear. Instead, a new feeling began to overshadow the anxiety that she felt: hope. Hope’s warmth and positive influence took root in her heart and began to spread through her being like wildfire. 

She hoped that Adrien liked her as much as she liked him.

She hoped that the question Adrien was going to ask her was if she wanted to go on a date with him, or even be his girlfriend.

She hoped that all of her wishes regarding the younger Agreste were starting to come true.

Little did she know, she was about to learn how pain hope could bring.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Originally, this was supposed to be the whole chapter where Mari confesses her feelings for Adrien/Adrien asking her about the whole Valentine thing....but as I was writing this chapter....I found out that I really liked the idea of Adrien and Marianette being shy/awkward around each other for a whole chapter. It was a really nice dynamic. 
> 
> It's a calm before the storm....so to speak. 
> 
> So, I hope enjoyed the pleasant, pure Adrienette fluff during this chapter.....because it's gonna storm next time. 
> 
> Next update: May 19. See you then.


	4. Questions and Confessions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marianette and Adrien are finally going talk, but will they be okay when everything’s out in the open?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone. I posted on the deadline as promised. :)
> 
> This is it, the moment we’ve all been waiting for.
> 
> Sit back, relax, and enjoy!
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug belongs to its respective creator.

When Alya found out about Marianette’s plan to talk to Adrien after school in the library, she couldn’t be more thrilled. She’d been waiting forever for Marianette and Adrien to get together and it seemed like it was going to happen. Most importantly, Marianette was happy.

There was only one problem.

Marianette was too happy.

Hours later, Marianette was still floating on her cloud of elation and nothing could make her get off of it, not even the ringing of the school’s bell.

So, like always, Alya had to help her come back to reality, especially since she had to meet  
her crush in the library.

Alya gently nudged her best friend, whispering, “Marianette...Marianette...”

Her efforts were proven to be useless as her words fell on deaf ears. Marianette just sat in her seat with her elbow propped up against the built-on brown table and her hand dipped against her cheek. A smile that was so bright that it could rival the light of the sun was still on her face.

As thrilled as Alya was for her best friend, she needed Marianette to get up or she would never meet up with Adrien. It only took her a second to come up with the perfect thing to say to get a reaction from the lovesick teen.

“There’s drool on your face.”

Those words made Marianette’s back stiffen as she began to furiously rub her hands against her mouth and chin, mumbling rapidly, “Oh my gosh! Alya, why didn’t you say something sooner?! Please don’t tell me Adrien is nearby! He can’t see me like this!”

Marianette’s spazzing just made Alya burst out in a fit of laughter.

Marianette whined, “Alya! Don’t mess with me like that!”

Alya wiped the tears from her eyes and said after her laughing fit finally ceased,

“Sorry, girl, but I’ve been trying everything to get your attention and you weren’t hearing me.”

“Oh, sorry, Alya....I was just...”

“Beyond happy that Adrien said you’re the person he’d run away with? Yeah, I know. Speaking of our favorite blonde boy, isn’t there somewhere you’re supposed to be right now?”

Marianette checked the time on her phone and squealed, “OH MY GOD! I GOTTA GO MEET ADRIEN! BYE!”

The frazzled teen sprinted out the room, leaving Alya alone to her devices. She chuckled as she gathered her belongings and stuffed them into your backpack. When she sling the heavy bag on her back, she was met once again with a nervous Marianette.

“Mari, what are you-“

“How do I look?! Do I look good?! Do I look bad?!”

“Girl, you look fine! Now, go! Don’t keep Adrien waiting!”

The sight of her friend running away once again made Alya chuckle and shake her head. Digging her finger into her pocket, she fished out her phone and called her boyfriend.

“Hello?”

“Hey, Nino. Want to go to Andre’s for some ice cream?”

“Are Marianette and Adrien coming with?”

“No, Mari’s finally gonna confess today since she didn’t get to last time.”

“Good. Maybe, Adrien will finally believe me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I told Adrien that Marianette had a crush on him during the break and guess what? He didn’t believe me! Alya, you were right. My bro is super dense. I mean, c’mon, everyone knows Marianette likes him. How can Adrien not see it?”

“NINO, YOU DID WHAT?!”

“....Am I in trouble?”

——-

When Marianette finally made it to the library, she saw a seated Adrien slumped over one of the tables. As she walked closer and closer to the object of her affections, a strange sound entered her ears. It sounded like...snoring?

Was Adrien asleep?

Marianette’s jaw almost fell to the floor when she finally made it to Adrien’s side. Adrien was fast asleep in the library. Nervously, she called out to him.

“A-Adrien?”

The calling of his name didn’t arouse Adrien from his slumber. Marianette wasn’t sure what she should do. If she left, Adrien would think she stood him up and her chances of ever being with Adrien drop straight to zero. Then again, she couldn’t stay here all afternoon and wait did him to wake up. Her parents were expecting her to help out in the bakery later. Also, if someone transformed into an akuma, she would have to leave so Ladybug could handle the situation. Marianette really needed Adrien to wake up and she needed him to stay awake long enough to reschedule their discussion or talk to her.

Suddenly, an idea popped into her head. With a whisper that was quiet as a mouse, she whispered,

“I’ll be right back. I promise.”

——

The sweet aroma of chocolate entered Adrien’s nose, making the blonde’s nose scrunch up while his head turned to the other side. The scent hit his nostrils again, but with more intensity than before. Adrien’s eyes fluttered open and he slowly raised his head up. He was met with the sight of a smiling Marianette standing over him holding two piping, hot cups of hot chocolate.

She put one cup down on the table before looking back at Adrien and said, “Um..you got a little something right...” She gestures to the side of her mouth and rubbed her fingers downward to her chin. It prompted Adrien to do the same and much to his horror, he could feel drool starting from his mouth and traveling all the way down to his chin.

Adrien’s face turned as red as cherry ice cream. “Agh! God! Sorry about that. I must look like a moron.”

“No! Not at all! You could never look like a moron! You look adorable! You always look adorable! You’re the most adorable boy in the world!”

Marianette’s hands flew to her mouth when the realization that she was babbling finally dawned on her. Now, it was Marianette’s turn to blush.

The corners of Adrien’s lips curled upward, forming a small smile. He gestured to the seat across from him, prompting Marianette to take a seat. She sipped her hot cocoa before asking the tired boy before her,

“Are you okay?”

Adrien was chugged his beverage like he had never experienced the sweet taste of liquid chocolate in his life. After four or five gulps, he finally answered her question.

“I’m fine, just a little from all the work over break.”

“If you’re too tired, we can always talk another da-“

“NO!”

The sudden change of volume in Adrien’s voice took Marianette aback. Adrien realized his mistake and said in a calmer, gentler tone,

“I may be tired, but I’m not too exhausted to talk to you, Marianette.”

“Oh....okay.”

With a deep breath, Adrien pulled his folded up, heart-shaped, Valentine card. He pushed it in front of Marianette and asked the question that has been bugging him ever since he talked to Nino Christmas night.

“Is this card...from you?”

Marianette took the card into her hands and unfolded it gently. Her eyes widened as she read the card’s content. In his mind, Adrien started to plead,

“Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.”

His pleas were unanswered when Marianette gave him her answer, “Yes, it’s from me.”

Her confession made his blood turn as cold as ice. All this time, he hoped that Ladybug sent him that card. Finding out that it was Marianette was not only painful, but also disappointing. 

Adrien opened his mouth, but before he has to the chance to say anything, Marianette held her hand up in the air and requested,

“Adrien, before you say anything, will you let my say something first?”

An expression of puzzlement appeared on Adrien’s face for a second before he nodded in understanding.

Marianette’s sky-blue eyes slowly closed and she placed a hand over her heart. When she opened her eyes, her eyes shone with such determination that it reminded Adrien of his superhero crush for a moment. Then, she made her confession.

“Adrien, I like you. I’ve liked you ever since that night when you gave me your umbrella. I wanted to tell you how I felt for months, but every time I was around you, I turned into a nervous mess. When it was Valentine’s Day, I found the love letter you wrote.”

She put the wrinkled letter on the table, right next to the card she wrote. “After reading that, I was...hoping...you liked me. So, I sent you that card.”

At first, Adrien was confused. How did Marianette think he liked her? He re-read his own handwriting and winced as he took in every single word.

Your hair is black as night, your pretty bluebell eyes  
I wonder who you are underneath that strong disguise  
Every day we see each other and I hope that you’ll be mine  
Together our love could be so true   
Please will you be my Valentine?

“Oh my god...no wonder Marianette thought I was talking about her....”, Adrien mentally chastised himself in embarrassment.

His internal scolding ended when Marianette called out his name.

“Adrien?”

“I...uh....well....the thing is...”, he trailed off in a panic.

 

Adrien was at a loss. He didn’t want to hurt Marianette. He valued their friendship and wasn’t sure if it would fully recover if he rejected her. On the other hand, she liked him in a way that he didn’t reciprocate. He wasn’t at fault for that nor had any control over it. He just...liked someone else. End of story.

Knowing that didn’t make the poor boy feel better about breaking the news to her.

He mustered all of his resolve and informed Marianette of the sad truth.

“Marianette, I’m really sorry, but that note....my note....it...it wasn’t you. It was about....someone else.”

Adrien’s heart felt like it was being stabbed by a thousand knives when he saw Marianette’s eyes start to fill up with saltwater tears. 

He continued, “Don’t get me wrong. I do like you, Marianette. You’re one of the greatest friends I could ever have, but....”

Marianette finished with sullenness in her voice, “....you don’t feel the same way about me.”

“R-Right.”

Marianette lowered her head for a minute and Adrien thought she was going to start sobbing right then and there. He asked out of concern,

“Marianette....are you-“

BOOM!

PITTER- PATTER!

Both teens jumped in their seats as they turned their attention to the windows. Instead of seeing a clear, blue sky, Adrien and Marianette saw a sky that was filled with ugly, dark grey clouds that looked heavy with water. Raindrops plummeted from high above and splashed against the ground below.

Both teens ran out of the library and straight to the front of the school. The duo stood underneath the patio with the both of them searching through their bags to find umbrellas that shield them from the falling rain.  
Marianette successfully retrieved an umbrella, but Adrien was not so lucky.

At atmosphere thick with tension began to develop between the two. Adrien didn’t really know what to say to Marianette. What can a boy say to the girl he just rejected? He attempted,

“Ma-“

HONK!

The loud sound of a car horn made Adrien wince with discomfort. Marianette looked startled before she said,

“I think you need t-“

“Yeah.”

He took one step forward and raised the bag over his head as a make-shift shield, but Marianette’s voice made him freeze.

“You should take this.”

Adrien looked behind him to see Marianette holding out her umbrella towards him. Suddenly, nostalgia hit him like a ton of bricks. That was the same umbrella that Adrien gave her on his first day of school.

“I can’t take that. I gave it to you.”

“It....It’s okay. I don’t need it anymore.”

Hearing those words made Adrien experience a painful feeling in his chest that he couldn’t explain. Hesitantly, he took the umbrella from Marianette.

She declared before turning away, 

“I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Wait!”

Marianette looked at him with confusion in her eyes before Adrian asked her a question.

“Are we still friends?”

Marianette smiles tightly as if she was doing everything in her power to hide her pain. “Yes....and...I hope it works out...between you...and that girl you like.”

“Yeah....me too.”

“See you later.”

Marianette sprinted away into the rain, leaving Adrian to helplessly watch her run off into the distance.

“Goodbye, Marianette.”, he sadly said as he climbed into his father’s black car and rode home.

——  
As soon as a soaking, wet Marianette made it home, she ran straight up to her room and collapsed on her bed. She buried her face into a pillow while her phone began to shake in her bag. After she grabbed it, she unlocked the mobile device and saw a text that Alya sent her.

Hey, girl. How’d it go?

All Marianette could do was flip her phone over and turn away from it. Tiki flew out of the teen’s bag,hovered over her, and tried to console the heartbroken hero.

“Marianette...it’s going to be okay.”

Marianette just shook her head numbly and only said one thing before her self-control broke down.

“No, it’s not.”

She spent the rest of the day in her room, crying with pain in her heart.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A heartbroken Marianette is sad to see, isn’t it?
> 
> Next time: Between Marianette avoiding him and his other two best friends going through relationship problems, what can Adrien Agreste do? Confess his feelings to Ladybug! 
> 
> Next update: June 16
> 
> See you next time!


	5. Advice, Both Good and Bad

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Saddened by what happened with Marianette, Adrien gets advice from the two most important people in his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I know it’s been a long while since I updated, but I’m back with a brand new chapter! 
> 
> When it comes to updating, I will try to update at least once a month. If time is on my side, I’ll update more. 
> 
> One way or another, I will complete this fic. 
> 
> That being said, please enjoy the latest chapter! :)

Ever since Adrien turned down Marianette on that rainy afternoon, things between them had become different.

Whenever Marianette and Adrien ran into each other, any smile that she had on her face would disappear. Her eyes drifted away from him. He would try to greet her, but anything he said was met with silence. Then, she turned on her heels and walked in the opposite direction, or worse....walk straight past him as if he wasn’t even there. 

Being ignored like that....tore Adrien up inside. 

If that wasn’t bad enough, Nino and Alya we’re making the whole situation a thousand times worse. Apparently, Alya wasn’t too happy that Nino spilled the beans about Marianette’s feelings before she had a chance to voice them aloud. Rejecting Marianette just made their relationship more rocky than it already was. It seemed like battle lines had been drawn without the group of friends with the boys being separated from the girls. 

Adrien hated the hostile dynamic them now. He desperately wanted things to go back to the way they used to be. His home life was already broken. Adrien didn’t want his friendships to suffer the same fate.

—————

When Plagg finally woke up from a slumber caused by eating way too much cheese, his lime green eyes widened at the sight of his Miraculous wielder lying in bed with his head buried in his folded arms. He flew over to the blonde and plopped down on the soft, fluffy, white pillow next to the saddened boy. 

The kwami asked, “Are you okay?”

A muffled voice answered his question. “I feel like it’s all my fault.”

“What’s all your fault?”

Adrien rolled on his back so Plagg can see his face. “Everything...Marianette’s avoiding me. Alya and Nino aren’t talking. All this happened after I turned down Marianette. All of this....is on me.”

Plagg sighed. “Look, kiddo, don’t blame yourself. None of this is your fault.”

“Yes, it is! My friends aren’t the same anymore after what I did!”

“Tell me something. Did you tell Marianette to stay away from you?”

“No...”

“Did you tell Alya and Nino to stop talking to each other?”

“No...”

“Exactly. You didn’t make them do anything. They made a choice.”

Saying that made Adrien sulk even more. The model mumbled,

“Marianette must hate me.”

Plagg shook his head. “Kid, she doesn’t hate you.”

Adrien shot Plagg a look of disbelief. “You just said that she choosing to avoid me.”

“She’s not doing it because she hated you. She’s taking time for herself.”

The disbelief that was in Adrien’s eyes turned into confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Kid, how would you feel if Ladybug told you she had a boyfriend?”

Adrien winced at Plagg’s words.

“It would hurt, right?”

Adrien nodded, which made Plagg explain,

“That’s exactly how Marianette feels right now. She’s hurting. She’s in pain. You know what the best cure for pain is?”

“Time?”

“Yes. Marianette is distancing herself from you because she needs to get over her pain. Once she feels better, she’ll start hanging out with you again. Just be patient and give her space.”

“What about Alya and Nino? What am I gonna do about them?”

“Nothing. They’ll work out their relationship problems in their own. You just need to stay out of it. Trust me, everything will go back to normal soon.”

Plagg’s heart almost broke when Adrien asked in a shaky voice that conveyed the sadness of a boy who knew nothing but loneliness for years.

“Promise?”

“I promise.”

Adrien’s lips curled into a small smile. “Thanks, Plagg. I feel better.”

“No problem.”

The sound of a doorknob turning made Plagg and Adrien jump. Plagg hid from sight as Adrien stammered,

“Y-Yes?”

Natalie poked her head through the door,

“Adrien, your father would like a word with you in his office.”

———  


Seated behind his desk, an annoyed Gabriel Agreste was evaluating pictures from Adrien’s most recent photo shoot. Pictures were scattered all around his desk in a big jumbled mess. Normally, this task was easy to do for the fashion designer. Adrien usually had perfect photos that were full of energy and life.

These pictures were nothing like that.

In each snapshot, Adrien looked unfocused and disinterested. The efforts that he put in each pose was clearly half-hearted. Every photo that Gabriel looked at was a failure.

Gabriel Agreste absolutely hated failure. 

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

KNOCK!

“Come in.”, Gabriel commanded.

Adrien entered the room and Gabriel could already tell that his son was nervous. 

“Natalie said you wanted to talk to me..” an anxiety-filled Adrien said. 

Gabriel narrowed his eyes at his son and asked him a question.

“Are you trying to embarrass me?”

Adrien’s jaw dropped open in shock. He tried to answer, but his bewilderment made his reply come out in stutters.

“N-N-N-No!”

“It would be in your best interest to not lie to me.”

“Father, I’m not trying to embarrass you! I don’t even know why you’re asking me that!”

Gabriel grabbed a handful of photos and threw them in Adrien’s direction. The pictures plummeted to the floor and landed inches away from his son’s feet.

“Those pictures are the reason I’m asking you that.”

Adrien picked one of the photos up and frowned. Gabriel investigated,

“Do you know what that picture you’re holding is?”

“....An embarrassment?”

“Exactly. Your pictures from your last photo shoot are disgraceful. Those photos are a shame to my fashion empire. If I allowed even one of those photos to be printed in a national magazine, I would become the laughing stock of the fashion world. Is that what you want?”

“No!”

“Then, what happened? Why didn’t you devote your full attention to your modeling?”

Adrien’s eyes darted away from Gabriel in guilt. “

“Something....happened with one of my friends three weeks ago.”

One of Gabriel’s eyebrows traveled upward a few inches.

His son continued, “My friend...Marianette...”

Gabriel interrupted, “The one you gave the gift to?”

“Yes....her. Well...after school....she told me....”

Adrien seemed to have trouble telling the rest of his story, but it didn’t take long for the fashion designer to figure it out.

“Let me guess. She told you that she had feelings for you.”

“Yes...”

“What was your response?”

“I told her....I didn’t like her back.”

He speculated, “She didn’t take that very well?”

“She seemed to be okay with it.”

“If that’s the case, what’s the problem?”

Adrien’s eyes traveled to the floor before he answered.

“Marianette’s been....ignoring me...”

So...that was the heart of the problem. Gabriel had to fight the urge to roll his eyes at the melodrama that his son was surrounded in.

He commented, waving his hand dismissively in the air. “Son, forget about her. She’s not important.”

Those words got a reaction out of his son. The blonde’s back immediately straightened and his hands curled into fists. Sparks of rage burned in his eyes as he snapped,

“Marianette was one of the first few friends I made at school. She may not be important to you, but she is extremely important to me.”

Gabriel was stunned by his son’s words for a moment. Adrien never talked back to him before. Normally, he was smarter than that. 

The fashion icon cooly replied, 

“Clearly, your feelings of friendship are one-sided.”

“That’s not true!”

“Are you sure? You said so yourself, Adrien. Ever since you rejected the girl, she hasn’t spoken to you. It seems that friendship was never on her radar with you. She wanted your affections, but since she can’t have that, she’s washed her hands of you.”

“No! You’re wrong! She...”, Adrien trailed off. 

Sadness began to creep into his voice. His eyes began to blink back tears that were starting to form in his eyes. He found the strength to finish his thought, 

“She told me that we still were friends after that!”

Gabriel scoffed, “Adrien, you’re a smart boy. I think you know what a lie is.” 

An enraged Adrien spoke without thinking, “I know what a lie is, Father. You’re the best liar I know.”

In a matter of seconds, Gabriel was right in front of his son.

SMACK!

A bright red handprint colored Adrien’s cheek. Adrien’s mouth dropped open while his hand covered the afflicted area. Gabriel had never laid a hand on his son, but this was the first time that Adrien had infuriated him so much.

He informed in an icy tone, “It seems that you have forgotten who you’re talking to. I don’t care how angry you think you are, Adrien, but I am your father. I am your guardian, your provider, and the reason you’re not living on the streets. You will never speak to me like that again. Is that clear?”

Adrien couldn’t even look at his father. His eyes were fixated on the floor. Endless rivers of tears cascaded down his face. Not a single word came out of his mouth.

Gabriel’s fingers grabbed Adrien’s chin in a vice-like grip and forced the teen to look at him. “Is that clear?!”

All Adrien could do was nod.

“Good. Now, your behavior has shown me that you’ve forgotten your manners. I think taking you out of fencing will help you remember. You can also forget about having free time on weekends. This way, you’ll have plenty of time to improve your modeling skills. Am I understood?”

Adrien just nodded one more time. 

“Good. Now, get out of my sight.”

———-

When Plagg saw Adrien again, he hoped that his friend might have a large piece of Camembert that he could sink his teeth into. What he did not expect to see was a crying Adrien with a swollen cheek.

Plagg exclaimed, “Adrien, are you okay?!”

Adrien furiously wiped his tears away, “We have to go!”

“Go?! Go where?!”

“Marianette! I have to see Marianette!”

“What?! No! Bad idea! You’re way too upset right now and she’s not ready yet!”

“I need to talk to her! I need to make sure we’re still friends!”

“Adrien, listen to me!”

“CLAWS OUT!”

When Adrien shouted the magical command, Plagg could feel himself being sucked into the silver ring on Adrien’s finger.  
Completely helpless to the effects of Adrien’s transformation, all Plagg could do was scream.

“Noooooooooooooooooooooo!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m not sure what’s worse:
> 
> \- Gabriel becoming almost as bad as Gothel
> 
> Or
> 
> \- Adrien about to make a big mistake and Plagg unable to stop him. 
> 
> What do you guys think?


	6. The Break Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An emotional Adrien confronts an equally emotional Marianette.
> 
> It does not end well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have returned with a brand new chapter.
> 
> Warning: This chapter contains feels and angst. 
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug belongs to its respective creators. 
> 
> Enjoy!

Marianette’s eyes were growing heavier by the second as she tried to study for an upcoming exam. 

Tiki sat on her shoulder and said, “Marianette, you need to take a break.”

Marianette rubbed her eyes. “Maybe, you’re right. I could really use a nap right now.”

Tikki flew into the air when the heroine laid down. “Before you do that, can I ask you something?”

Marianette yawned before answering, “Sure.”

“When are you going to talk to Adrien again?”

Any drowsiness that Marianette has been feeling disappeared in an instant. 

“I don’t know.”

“When are you going to stop avoiding him?”

“I’m not....I’m not trying to avoid him. It’s just....” Marianette pulled her knees to her chest and rested her head on the headboard. “Every time I see him...it hurts. If I’m around him...it’ll hurt even more.”

She remembered the day he rejected her feelings like it was yesterday. The pain was so unbearable that she cried for hours on end. When she finally stopped crying, she found the strength to remove any trace of the boy she spent months pining for from her room. 

Tikki commented, “I understand that, but I hope you understand that you’re hurting him when you act like he isn’t there.”

Marianette would’ve said something else, but her mother’s voice ended the conversation. 

“Marianette! Your friend is here! He wants to talk to you!”

Tikki hid from sight as a puzzled Marianette declared, “Okay, let him come up!”

The sound of someone climbing up the stairs echoed throughout the room until the door was pushed open. Marianette’s heart clenched when she laid eyes on a distressed Adrien. 

However, any emotional agony that she was going through was sidelined in her mind when she noticed that Adrien’s eyes were extremely red and puffy. Then, her eyes traveled to the reddened side of his face.

“Adrien, are you alright?!”, a worried Marianette exclaimed. 

Her words fell on deaf ears. Adrien interrogated, “Did you mean it?”

“Did I mean what?”

“When you said we’d still be friends....did you mean that?”

“Yes! Of course!”

“Marianette...please don’t lie to me....”, urged Adrien.

Marianette was dumbfounded. How could he think she was lying to him? 

“I’m not lying to you, Adrien. I don’t even know where this is coming from! Of course, we’re still friends!”, she exclaimed gesturing between the two of them. 

“You have a funny way of showing it!”, Adrien screamed in irritation. 

Marianette clenched her fists with anger bubbling with her. “What is that supposed to mean?!”

“You haven’t spoken a word to me three weeks, Marianette!” Adrien formed the number with his fingers. “Three! That’s how long you’ve been ignoring me and pretending I don’t even exist! Does that sound like a good friendship to you?! How can you call me your friend and then do that to me for almost a month?!”

Marianette’s eyes widened at how....hurt Adrien sounded. Then, the realization hit her like a ton of bricks. She did this...she made him feel this way. An apology formed on the tip of her tongue, but before she had the chance to voice it aloud, Adrien asked with a hand running through his golden hair in a voice filled with sadness,

“Are you really that selfish and shallow that you would throw away our friendship because I couldn’t give you what you wanted?”

Any thoughts of apology or feelings of sympathy died when she heard those words. Instead, she only felt one thing: explosive rage.

“Selfish?! Shallow?! Is that really what you think of me?!”

“Well, when you treat me like the scum of the e-“

“YOU BROKE MY HEART, ADRIEN!”

Tears flooded her eyes until they spilled down her face. Adrien was speechless as Marianette continued her emotional rant,

“I have liked you for forever! When I finally get the courage to tell you how I feel, I find out that not only do you not like me, you like someone else too. Do you have any idea how that feels?!”

Adrien opened his mouth to give his input, but Marianette was not about to give him the opportunity to say anything.

“I don’t even know why I’m asking you that. Of course, you don’t. You’re Adrien Agreste, the boy who makes a thousand girls swoon. I was just stupid enough to be one of them.”

“I-“

“It hurts, Adrien! I’m not trying to avoid you or treat you like you don’t exist, but it hurts to look at you! It’s hurting me to look at you right now! That’s what heartbreak does to you, Adrien! It’s pain! It’s agony and it makes you miserable! I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, but if the girl you like broke your heart.....maybe you’d understand how I feel.” 

Marianette wiped her angry tears away while Adrien lowered his head in shame. 

“All I wanted....needed....was time to get over all that....time to get over you. If you think I’m selfish and shallow for needing that, then maybe.....we shouldn’t be friends at all.”

A panicked look appeared on Adrien’s face after Marianette said those words. He placed his hands on her shoulders, saying urgently,

“Marianette, stop! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I was being an idiot and I wasn’t being considerate of your feelings! I admit it! I can admit it, but you don’t have to do this! You don’t have to-“

She pushed Adrian away with a hard shove, making the boy stumble a few centimeters from her backwards.

“No, Adrien......it’s over. Consider our friendship done.”

Adrien reached out to her....tried to make one last plea, but Marianette held her hand out in front of her. 

“You need to go home.”

“Marianette-“

“This conversation is over. Now, get out of my room.”

Adrien sullenly walked out of Marianette’s room and when the teen was all alone, she dropped to her knees and sobbed all through the night.  
————————-  
“Claws In....”, Adrien ordered as soon when he reached his room.

His superhero persona disappeared before he plopped on his bed and hid his face in a pillow. 

Plagg looked at the boy and just shook his head in disappointment.

“Why didn’t you listen to me, kid?”

Adrien couldn’t even give him an answer. 

He was too busy crying.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If they could take this moment back....
> 
> If they could turn back time, they would....
> 
> I don’t why, but this story gives me so many opportunities to make Tangled references. 
> 
> This chapter hurt to write, especially near the end. 
> 
> This conversation should have never happened.
> 
> These two were not in the right place to have this conversation.
> 
> So, which character do you have the most sympathy for: Adrien or Marianette?


	7. Mother Knows Best

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya talks to her mother and is given some harsh truths that Alya might not be ready for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the bombshell of feels that was the Adrienette fight, it’s time to see what Alya’s doing and see how she’s feeling about all this.
> 
> Miraculous Ladybug doesn’t belong to me. It belongs to its respective creators. 
> 
> Enjoy!

“ _You have twenty voicemails_.”

“Alya, I know you’re mad at me, but I am so so-“

Alya’s thumb pressed the delete button.

“ _You have nineteen voicemails_.”

“Alya, you gotta believe me. I am really so-“

Once again, Alya pushed the delete button.

“ _You have eighteen voicemails_.”

“UGH!”, Alya groaned irritably.

Alya tossed her phone on her bed, making the mobile device bounce on the mattress upon impact. Her body fell into her soft, black, spinning computer chair while her feet pushed against the floor and propelled her towards her desk. Her ringtone blared loudly a second later, much to her annoyance. “I swear to God….if this is Nino….”, Alya grumbled. Her phone was in her fingers once again, but it wasn’t the name of her boyfriend that appeared on the screen.

She pressed the answer button. Hi, Marianette! What’s up?” She could hear the sound of sniffling through the phone.

“Mari…..are you okay?”

“You won’t believe what Adrien just did.”

Thirty minutes later…..

“Adrien really called you selfish and shallow?!”, ALya exclaimed in disbelief.

“Yeah….”, her best friend said sadly.

“That is so-ugh! I can’t believe him! He literally just turned you down weeks ago! You need space to get over something like that!”

“I know! I wish he understood that….”, Marianette concurred with anger in her voice.

“So, what did you do?! What did you say back to him?!”

“I ended our friendship.”

Those words felt like ice-cold water drenched Alya from head to toe. Her blood turned cold, her heart skipped a beat, and a gasped escaped her slightly parted lips.

“You….aren’t friends with Adrien anymore?”, she asked in a voice that couldn’t even begin to restrain how astounded she felt.

“No. Since he disrespected me, he can no longer be considered a friend of mine.”, Marianette declared with determination.

Before Alya could get a word in, Marianette requested, “Alya….do you think…maybe…you’d be okay with not hanging out with Adrien anymore?”

“Um…well….um….”

“You’re my best friend and I can really use your support on this. I just….I just really need you to be on my side.”

Uncertainty gnawed away at her as she weaved together a lie to prevent from being forced to give Marianette a definite answer, “I….I have to go. My sister is calling me. I guess dinner is ready.”

“Okay. Bye, Alya.”

“Bye.”

The phone call ended, but Alya started to grow more and more perplexed by this entire situation that her and her closest friends were in. The revelation that Marianette had cut ties with Adrien platonically completely threw her for a loop. Sure, Marianette had plenty of reasons to be angry with Adrien, but to completely cut him out of her life because of an argument felt…extreme. Besides that, Alya was even more appalled by the fact that Marianette had asked her to stop hanging out with Adrien. Despite everything that had happened, Alya still…really liked Adrien She didn’t want to stop being friends with him just because Marianette had decided to. If Alya continued to befriend Adrien, would that mean she was being a bad friend to Marianette? On the other hand, if Alya stopped being Adrien’s friend to support Marianette, wouldn’t that make her a bad friend to Adrien?

It started to feel like this entire situation was growing out of control.

——————

KNOCK!  
KNOCK!  
KNOCK! 

“Come in!”, Alya declared. 

Marlena walked into the room carrying two giant bowls of chicken pasta covered in a creamy white sauce. The scent from the bowls was heavenly. Alya was starting to salivate at the mouth. 

She handed the food to Alya. “Thought you might be hungry.”

Enthusiastically, Alya took the hot meal that was inches away from her off Marlena’s hands. 

“Thanks, Mom.”

Marlena took a seat on Alta’s bed, right next to Alya, asking,

“Are you okay?”

Alya tilted her head to the side. “Sure...why are you asking? Does something seem wrong with me?”

Marlena gave Alya a speculative look. “You’re my daughter. I know when something’s wrong with you.”

Alya’s appetite disappeared after her mother said those words. Instead, she could only look sullen and push the pasta back and forth with her fork.

Marlena asked, “Alya....did you and Nino break up?”

Alya shook her head. 

“We didn’t break up, but I feel like all of my friendships might.”

“What do you mean?”

Alya sighed and told her mother everything that happened, starting from what happened Christmas Eve and ending with what Marianette and Alya talked about on the phone.

“She wants me to stop being friends with Adrien now and....I think I should...or shouldn’t....I’m not sure what to do.”

All Alya received was silence from her mother.

“Mom?”

“Alya....I think every single one of you has made a mistake.”

Alya was surprised, and quite frankly, offended when her mother spoke those words.

“How can you say that, Mom?! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“You’re considering breaking your friendship with a nice boy you’ve known for a long time because Marianette wants you to. That sounds wrong to me.”

“Marianette is my best friend! She needs my support!”

“This isn’t Marianette being a best friend. This is Marianette being petty. A real best friend wouldn’t ask you to drop a friend because she did. If you do what Marianette wants, not only will you lose a friend, you might also lose your boyfriend in the process.”

Alya leapt to her feet, screaming, “I am not going to lose Nino!”

Her mother remained calm as she informed, “Well, if you keep ignoring him, he’s going to break up with you. He won’t put up with your behavior forever.”

Alya crossed her arms. “The only reason I’m ignoring him is because he didn’t keep his mouth shut. If he talked a little less, none of this would have happened.”

“If you stayed in your lane, none of this would have happened either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“It means....”, Marlena pointed at Alya, “....that you are quick to place blame on Nino, but you’re not entirely guiltless either.”

Alya opened her mouth to retort, but Marlena was going to let Alya get a word in until she was finished.

“No, Alya, you need to hear this. If you didn’t try to set up Marianette and Adrien up in the first place, none of this would have happened. You tried to force something that wasn’t meant to be and now you can’t handle the consequences.”

“I-I-I-......”, Alya tried to fish for a reason...any reasons to convince her mom that she had no fault in the situation she was in. “I didn’t make Nino tell Adrien about the Valentine! I didn’t make Adrien and Marianette act they way they have and I didn’t make them fight!”

“You’re right. They made a choice, just like you made a choice that kickstarted this entire mess.”

Alya’s mouth couldn’t form any words to argue against her mother. 

Marlena gathered the discarded bowls and silverware. “I believe I’ve given you enough to think about. I just hope you make the right decision about Adrien. It would be a shame if you lost a friend and boyfriend because you made the wrong call.”

Marlena left Alya alone in her room. If the teen’s mind wasn’t a jumbled mess before, it certainly was after her discussion with her mom. 

The buzzing of her phone didn’t calm her nerves. In fact, the sound aggravated them. She wasn’t in the mood to talk to anyone. When her phone buzzed a second time, she looked at the screen.

When she read Nino’s text message, her heart shattered into pieces like glass.

Alya, we need to talk. I can’t do this anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mother knows best...listen to your mother...because she might be right.
> 
> Seriously, Alya needs to listen to her mom. She does have a point. 
> 
> Nino’s text message worries me. It worries me a lot. 
> 
> Could Alya lose Nino a lot sooner than Marlena predicted?
> 
> What’s Alya going to do about Adrien? 
> 
> Will Alya’s decision about Adrien affect her friendship with Marianette? 
> 
> I feel bad for Alya. I really do.
> 
> Updating News: I’m going to start updating during the first and last week of each month. Life is going to get busy for me soon, so I’m going to have to start scheduling my updates.


	8. The Ultimatum

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya goes to confront Nino about the text he sent, but finds out that the text message was the least of her worries.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, everyone! I know it's been a LONG while since I updated this story, but I am back with a brand new chapter. This story will not be abandoned. 
> 
> Warning: This chapter includes feels and angst.
> 
> Enjoy!

After Nino sent his girlfriend his text, the teen experienced a strange sense of freedom.

It was like a heavy load had been lifted off his chest and he felt so much better afterwards. Alya didn’t text him back right away, which was fine by him. The longer she took to reply, the better off he was going to be for the moment. He already went through many sleepless nights trying to apologize to Alya. Tonight, he was finally going to get some rest. His mouth stretched open to release a yawn, which the boy took as a massive hint to go to bed. He clapped twice, which made the lights automatically shut off and his room became surrounded in complete darkness. In a matter of seconds, Nino was fast asleep.

* * *

 

TAP!

TAP!

TAP!

The sound of something hitting the window interrupted Nino’s slumber. A groan born of annoyance filled the air as the boy reluctantly sat up and put on his glasses. He walked to the window and peered out to window to see someone throwing rocks at the glass. Nino’s blood started to boil. His fingers pushed the window up so fast that the entire thing shook when it crashed against the windowpane.

“DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA-"

He stopped in mid-scream when he saw Alya standing outside in the freezing cold. She was trembling from being exposed to the frigid air and every time she released a breath, Nino could see the cold temperature turn the air solid white. She pointed to the large, brown tree house that was directly behind her. With a quick nod, he closed the window, quickly put on a sweat suit, and grabbed the thickest coat in his closet. As quiet as a mouse, Nino crept out of the house with great care to not wake his parents up. He climbed up the giant, oak tree in his backyard, using the wooden plates that had been nailed into the bark as support. When he made it to the top, he climbed into the tree house to find Alya curled up into a ball, shivering with her arms crossed.

Nino wrapped the coat around her shaking form, gently scolding the girl with concern in his voice, “Alya, what are you doing here? It’s freezing cold outside. You could get really sick.”

Alya curled more into herself with her fingers curling into the soft fabric of the coat that was resting on her shoulders. She mumbled something that Nino couldn’t quite comprehend.

“What did you just say?”, Nino asked.

Alya spoke a little louder, but this time Nino could detect a slight edge in her voice. “Do you even care?”

Nino’s eyes widened in shock and offense. He demanded, “How-How could you even ask that?! Of course, I care about you, Alya!”

“Then, why would you send me this?!”

All of a sudden, Alya’s phone was shoved into his face. On the glass screen, Nino read the message that he had sent Alya before going to sleep.

Alya, we need to talk. I can’t do this anymore.

Nino could see Alya’s eyes fill up with tears. Furious hands flew to her eyes to hastily wipe the water away, but her efforts were futile, her eyes became full seconds later. Nino reached out to her, but Alya pushed his hand away and said one word with anger burning in her eyes.

“Don’t.”

“Alya-“

“Do you want to break up with me?”

“That’s not an easy question to answer.”

“It’s not rocket science, Nino. Yes or no, that’s all I need to hear from you.”

“Alya-“

“Yes or no.”

Nino sighed heavily and answered with resolve in his voice. “Yes and no.”

His answer made Alya’s eyes narrow in confusion before she turned her face away from him with a bewildered look on her face. “That…That doesn’t make any sense! I asked for a straight answer, Nino!”

Nino shrugged his shoulders. “It may not be the answer you want, but it’s how I feel.”

Alya threw her hands up in the air in frustration. “You want to break up with me…you don’t want to break up with me…which one is it, Nino?!”

“It’s both.”

“How can it be both?!”

“It can be both because even though I want us to work, I feel like our relationship is going to fall apart if we keep fighting like this.”

Alya rushed into Nino’s personal space and jabbed her finger into his chest. “If we’re fighting, Nino, it’s because of you. You couldn’t keep your mouth shut, remember?”

Nino’s fingers curled around her hand as he moved her finger from his person. “Maybe, but Alya….I’m tired. I’m tired of apologizing a thousand times over only to be heard on deaf ears. I’m tired of losing sleep wondering if you’re ever going to forgive me. I’m tired of you treating me like I was the only one who messed up recently.”

“Well, for once, we can actually agree on something. You aren’t the only one who messed up. You and Adrien have made some bad calls lately.”

“You’re right, we have….but so have you and Marianette.”

“Don’t you dare bring her into this. She didn’t do anything wrong.”

“Really? You think she’s innocent?”

“I swear to god, Nino, if you’re judging her about needing space from Adrien, I will-“

“Did she ask you to stop being friends with Adrien?”

That question made Alya freeze up, which was all the confirmation that Nino needed. It took her a moment to begin speaking again.

“How did you-“

“Right before I sent you that text message, she called me, told me what her fight with Adrien, and asked me that very same question.”

“So….”, Alya swallowed nervously, “….what did you say?”

Nino crossed his arms over his chest. “I told her no.”

This little fact took Alya aback, much to Nino’s surprise.

She stammered, “You told her no? Just like that?” She snapped her fingers for emphasis.

“Yes, just like that.”

“She’s your friend!”

“Correction: was. She was my friend. Since I said no, the chances of us ever speaking again are practically zero.”

“How?! How could you say no to her so easily?!”

“She was trying to manipulate me.”

“No, she wasn’t! She was….”

“I could really use your support….I need you by my side, did she try that song and dance on you?”

Alya grit her teeth. “I know Marianette. She would never manipulate anyone, especially her friends.”

Nino rolled his eyes. “What kind of friend makes her other friends pick sides? What kind of friend wants her friends to abandon someone who didn’t do anything to hurt them? Tell me, Alya, what kind of friend does that?”

Alya tore her gaze away from Nino and winced when he spoke up again. “Did you tell her no?”

Alya squeezed her eyes shut and let her silence speak for her.

“Alya, tell me you said no.”

More silence was the only answer the boy received.

Nino yelled, “Are you serious, Alya?! You’re actually going to do what Marianette wants?!”

“I haven’t made a decision yet!”

“Haven’t or not going to?”

Alya roared with just as much anger as Nino. “You want me to turn my back on her?! Is that it?! Sorry to disappoint you, Nino, but I can’t do that as easily as you can!”

“This is wrong. You know that. You have to know that.”

Alya shook her head furiously, making her red curls fly everywhere. “This isn’t an easy decision for me, Nino. Marianette is my best friend. I can’t….I can’t hurt her….not after everything that’s happened….”

Nino sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “If you want to stand by Marianette, that’s fine. You have the right to make that choice. Just remember that I have the right to make choices too…..choices about us.” Alya opened her mouth to speak, but Nino beat her to it. “The text I sent you…it was mainly about what Marianette was asking us to do. I said no and I will stand by that choice because it was the right one to make, but if you say yes…..”, Nino trailed off. The next words he had to say were the hardest ones that he ever said aloud, but he knew he had to do say them. He finished, “….if you make the wrong choice, our relationship is done.”

It pained Nino to see the hurt expression on Alya’s face after those words left his lips. A steady river of tears slid down her face.

“You….You’d really break up with me over this?”, she interrogated, sniffling in between her words.

Nino’s hand reached out to her, only to stop in mid air and drop to his side lifelessly. As much as he wanted to hug Alya and help her stop crying, he knew that he couldn’t. He needed to get his point across. He needed to stand his ground. He needed to make his feelings known.

“Yes, I would. I really like dating you, Alya, but my friendship with Adrien is important to me. I was friends with him before we started dating and I'll keep being friends with him even if our relationship ends.”

“Nino, I-“

Nino shook his head. He said everything that he needed to say. This conversation was over. “It’s late. We both have school tomorrow. I’ll walk you home.”

Alya nearly tore the coat off of her and threw it at Nino. The garment smacked Nino in the face while his possibly future ex-girlfriend screamed, “Don’t bother!”

When he pulled the coat away from his face, Alya was already halfway down the tree. The moment Nino finally touched the ground, Alya had already disappeared from sight.

* * *

 

Alya returned home to the sight of an angry Marlena sitting in the living room.

She declared, “I hope you enjoyed your night out, because you won’t be able to leave the house for a whole m-“

Her mother’s words didn’t even register to the teen. Her knees gave out as she broke down in sobs. Her hands rushed to her face to contain her tears, but her fingers weren’t enough to keep her tears from hitting the floor.

She felt her mother’s warm, gentle embrace as she stroked her hair, asking, “Alya, what’s wrong? What happened?”

In between her sniffles, there was only one thing Alya could say, “You were right, Mom. The whole entire time…..you were right.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh, Alya....what are you going to do now? 
> 
> Side note: At this point, I'll be updating when I can. I'm not abandoning this story, so there will be more updates in the future. The next chapter will take me a while to write because it's going to be longer than what I normally post. 
> 
> See you next time!


End file.
